Market report · United Kingdom

Hiring a car at Edinburgh Airport

What the headline price leaves out here, measured across 53 searches of this market, the largest returning 738 cars.

Measured 53 searches since 20 September 2026 How we measure

In short: A week's car hire at Edinburgh Airport costs a median €454 in total. The desk typically holds a €585 deposit on the main driver's credit card; 29% of cars accept a debit card instead. Every supplier we priced at Edinburgh Airport charges for a second driver, typically €134 for the whole rental. Every car we priced there can be cancelled free. Measured by Car Rental Brain across 53 searches, last updated 16 October 2026.

Edinburgh's skyline at sunset from Calton Hill
Photo: Hoàng Vũ, Pexels licence, via Pexels, cropped
100%
of suppliers charge for a second driver

Assume you will pay it.

€134
typical second-driver fee, whole rental

One fee per rental, not per person.

€585
typical deposit held at the desk

Pre-authorised on the main driver's card, and released after you return the car.

100%
cancel free

Almost everything here. Book early, keep checking, rebook if it drops.

What this means for your booking

  • The cheapest sticker is usually not the cheapest car. With 100% of suppliers charging about €134 for a second driver, two cars advertised a few euro apart can be €134 apart by the time you drive away. We put that fee into every price the moment you say you need one.
  • A month is not four times a week. The median week here is €454 and the median month €1855 — worse per day, which is why back-to-back rentals often beat one long booking on hires of 40 days or more.
  • Airport or town desk? We have not measured which is cheaper yet, so we won't guess. We are measuring it now and will publish the numbers. See every pick-up point here.

Getting to the car

If you land late. 50% of the suppliers we priced shut by 22:00, and the typical desk closes at 22:30. A delayed flight is the difference between collecting your car and paying for a night you did not plan. Measured across 449 offers that publish their desk hours; a supplier that does not publish them is not counted as open.

Not every supplier here hands you the keys in the terminal. Across 53 searches, this is how collection splits:

  • Car rental center 40%
  • Free shuttle service 34%
  • Meet & Greet 21%
  • In terminal 13%

16 suppliers appeared here across our searches, at several separate pick-up points. See which is nearest you and what each costs.

The fine print, measured

These conditions vary more between airports than most people expect. We measure each of them everywhere we sweep: deposits · debit cards · second-driver fees · desk hours.

58%
Same to same

Return it with the level you got. Cheaper than full-to-empty deals, but check the gauge at pick-up and photograph it.

71%
unlimited mileage

Check the cap before you book a long drive — the supplier sets the excess rate and we cannot see it.

0%
allow crossing a border

Well short of universal — filter for it if you plan to drive out of the country.

29%
accept a debit card

More flexible than most markets, but still check before you travel.

Deposit banding, as the suppliers classify it themselves: low deposit 28% · average deposit 24% · high deposit 21% · no deposit 16% · low deposit option available 9% · deposit-free option available 7%.

What each supplier actually costs here

16 suppliers appeared in our searches. These are the ones you are most likely to be offered — chosen by how often they came up, then ordered by what they really cost, which is rarely the same order as the advertised price.

Prices are for a one-week hire. Mixing rental lengths would make the column meaningless — a fee charged once per rental is a very different share of a week than of a month — so this table is built from week-long searches only.

Supplier Advertised
1 week
With 2nd driver Deposit held Full cover
Routes Car Rental cheapest all-in
7.9 · seen 96 times
€201 €353
+€152
€1,082 €42
Arnold Clark
9.41 · seen 1038 times
€334 €457
+€123
— €91
U-Save
7.36 · seen 552 times
€358 €489
+€131
€2,945 €155
International Vehicle Hire
8.48 · seen 135 times
€370 €494
+€124
€295 €141
GreenMotion
6.19 · seen 812 times
€367 €498
+€131
€2,000 €121
Keddy
8.1 · seen 304 times
€367 €523
+€156
€825 €121
SIXT
7.69 · seen 952 times
€419 €577
+€158
€676 €115
Finalrentals
8.6 · seen 2408 times
€507 €630
+€123
€295 €147
Europcar
8.35 · seen 391 times
€530 €686
+€156
€295 €147
Drivalia
6.59 · seen 1912 times
€594 €716
+€123
€1,765 €127
Budget
8.64 · seen 116 times
€616 €741
+€124
€390 €157
Enterprise
9.22 · seen 245 times
€746 €905
+€158
€236 €168

Tap a price to search Edinburgh Airport for your own dates, or a deposit to see every supplier's deposit.

Deposits vary far more than prices. U-Save holds €2,945 on the main driver's card against Enterprise's €236. It is released after you return the car, but it has to fit.

"With 2nd driver" is the advertised rental plus that supplier's additional-driver fee — our definition of the total, and the only one we rank on. Full cover is quoted separately and never added in: many travellers hold annual excess insurance or rely on a card, and folding in an assumed purchase is precisely the trick this site exists to expose. Medians across 53 searches; a supplier that does not publish a fee is not counted as free. How we measure this.

What a rental costs at Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport: what a week's car hire costs per day at the low end, by pick-up month. For Nov 2026: €24.08 for the rental.

Per day, from the searches we have run here. Cheapest found is the single cheapest car, at the price shown when booking (it appears once enough searches record it; the deposit and any desk charges are on each car in the search). Low end: only 1 car in 10 costs less than this. Middle is the typical car. + second driver and + full cover add each car's own quoted fee and DiscoverCars' Full Coverage price - only cars that quote them count, never as free; those rows appear as searches record them (from 27 September). The rental price only: a second driver, cover and fuel come on top, and prices move daily, so check your own dates.

TripIncludesCheapest found / dayLow end / dayMiddle / day
A week
November 2026
4 searches · 20 September – 5 October 2026
price these dates
Rental only — €24.08€41.13
A month (28-30 days)
November 2026
4 searches · 20 September – 5 October 2026
price these dates
Rental only — €27.29€48.31

How customers rate each supplier at Edinburgh Airport

DiscoverCars customers' scores for each supplier's desk here, out of 10 - only suppliers with at least 30 local reviews. Scores under 6.5 are marked. The slowest pick-ups come first.

SupplierLocal reviewsPick-up timeFinding itStaffCar conditionCleanlinessValueDrop-off
GreenMotion346 5.1 6.0 5.8 7.1 7.5 5.5 6.1
Drivalia572 5.5 5.8 6.6 6.9 7.4 6.4 7.1
SIXT51 6.6 7.9 7.7 8.4 8.3 7.0 7.8
Keddy196 7.0 8.1 7.8 8.5 8.6 7.5 8.9
Europcar88 7.5 8.7 8.0 8.7 8.8 7.5 9.1
Budget106 7.9 8.6 8.5 8.9 9.0 8.3 9.2
National35 7.9 8.6 8.3 8.7 8.5 8.1 8.9
Hertz93 8.0 9.5 8.9 9.1 9.2 8.7 9.4
Avis97 8.4 8.9 8.5 8.8 9.0 8.2 9.3
Alamo421 8.9 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 8.6 9.6
Arnold Clark695 9.2 9.2 9.4 9.7 9.7 9.1 9.7
Enterprise201 9.2 9.4 9.1 9.2 9.1 8.7 9.7

Source: DiscoverCars customer reviews of each supplier at this location, as shown with every search; medians across our searches. Scores change as new reviews come in.

More on Edinburgh Airport: deposits by supplier

Hiring a car at Edinburgh Airport: common questions

How much does car hire cost at Edinburgh Airport?

The median week is €454 and the median month €1,855 (53 searches, last 16 October 2026). Prices move daily, so price your own dates for today's totals.

Can you hire a car at Edinburgh Airport with a debit card?

For a few cars: 29% of the cars we priced accept a debit card for the deposit (53 searches, last 16 October 2026). The rest need a credit card in the main driver's name. Hiring with a debit card →

How much is the car hire deposit at Edinburgh Airport?

Typically €585, pre-authorised on the main driver's card and released after you return the car (53 searches, last 16 October 2026). 23% of cars had no deposit or a deposit-free option.

Do you pay extra for a second driver at Edinburgh Airport?

Usually: 100% of suppliers here charge for a second driver, typically €134 for the whole rental (53 searches, last 16 October 2026). Second-driver fees →

Is the car hire desk at Edinburgh Airport in the terminal?

Mostly not. For 40% of the cars we priced, the desk is in the car rental centre; for 34% of the cars we priced, a free shuttle takes you to the desk (53 searches, last 16 October 2026).

Can I pick up a hire car at Edinburgh Airport late at night?

Plan for it: 50% of the suppliers we priced shut by 22:00, and none we priced were open 24 hours (53 searches, last 16 October 2026). If your flight lands late, check the desk's hours before you book. Landing late →

Price it for your dates

Every supplier, ranked by the total you actually pay.

Search Edinburgh Airport →
How these numbers were measured

We search this market on a schedule through DiscoverCars, at several rental lengths, and keep what came back. Each figure above is the median across 53 searches, not a single snapshot and not an estimate.

  • Second-driver share — the percentage of priced offers whose supplier charges a fee for an additional driver. Offers that do not publish a fee are excluded from the share rather than counted as free.
  • Typical fee — the median fee for the whole rental, not per day. One fee per rental, however many drivers.
  • Deposit — the median amount the supplier pre-authorises on the main driver's card at the counter. It is released after you return the car.
  • Cancel free — the share of offers that can be cancelled without charge.

Car hire is priced dynamically and these are typical values, not quotes. Availability and price are confirmed on DiscoverCars before you pay. We publish the aggregates; the underlying records stay ours.

Measured from 53 searches of this market between 20 September 2026 and 16 October 2026. Car hire is priced dynamically: these are typical values, not quotes, and the only way to know your price is to search your dates. Prices and availability come from DiscoverCars and are confirmed there before you pay.

Edinburgh Airport against other airports

AirportSecond driver, typicalDeposit, typicalSearches
Edinburgh Airport (this page) €134 €585 53
London Airport Gatwick €131 €1,120 65
London Airport Heathrow €131 €827 52
London Airport Stansted €124 €815 63
Manchester Airport €158 €672 53

Across the 46 airports we measure, a second driver is cheapest at Antalya Airport (typically €25) and dearest at Manchester Airport (€158). All second-driver fees.

How we measure this · ← All market reports

See today's prices at Edinburgh Airport →